In bombita pigs run free. I think they are just so cute, but some of the bigger ones can be a couple hundred punds! They leave their not so cute waste everywhere they go though, so you have to be careful where you step!
Monday, August 15, 2011
August 11, 2011
I finally found Bombita on Google earth! Here you can see the lay out of the town, the COPA compound, and the Metro, their irrigation resevoir. In the smaller picture you can see that the houses are little more than shacks, built so close together they could lean on each other if one started to fall.
August 9, 2011
Patrick and I, along with some friends from La Hoya went to a realy nice swimming pool in Cabral, about 20 minutes away. The compound had four pools, two of which are connected by an underwater tunnel. The water was so ridiculously cold, but it felt great on that hot, hot day.
August 7, 2011
The baby papaya tree in our back yard to starting to show some fruit. I am always so surprised by how fast things grow and produce fruit here, especially coming from Colorado where things take years to mature. This tree was barely a sprout when we moved here in April. I am hoping the fruit will be ready soon!
August 5, 2011
Tropical storm Emily gatherned a lot of hype in our area, and Bombita was under an evacuation warning because of the risk of flooding. As Patrick, Amy and I were heading down to Bomita, we saw some friends that offerd to help get the beds up on blocks, the motor bikes on table, and EVERYTHING off the ground. This job would have taken us hours, but with their help it took less than an hour,, and we had some fun doing it! The storm never hit us though, and we had to undo all the hard work a few days later.
August 3, 2011
We met with the Fundacion members in the COPA La Hoya library, after a two year hiatus. Pastor Pedro and Maribel chatted some during lunch, while Rachel finished her lunch. It was great to get to meet all the members, and have positive discussion about the state of the schools and clinics.
August 1, 2011
Miguel is the tallest guy in La Hoya, and one of the most talented baseball players in town. He practices with a competitive team, and plays for the town rec team as well, and trains in hopes of being recognized by a scout that would send him to training camp in the Capital.
July 30, 2011
After it rains in La Hoya the kids come out to play bottle cap races. They each have a bottle cap and they float it down the gutter. It is really fun to see them playing such a fun and simple game.
July 28, 2011
Two young men from Bombita , Jose and Diego, come to La Hoya every Saturday night to play the piano, sing, and beat on the drums for the church services. They are great guys who love to have fun, and have become good friends.
July 27, 2011
At the hotel we stayed at for the teacher retreat, the housecleaning staff could do amazing things with a towel! This heart design is just one towel and a few sprinkled flowers. It was a nice little treat to find at the end of the day.
July 25, 2011
Some of the teachers from La Hoya invited me and Amy, the health advisor to attend a teacher vacation to Jaun Dolio, a little north of the capital. The resort was very nice and all inclusive, so we all came back a few pounds heavier! This is the view of their above water huts, from the beach.
July 23, 2011
Two men in Bombita put together a sports tournament between the surrounding towns, including a Hoya. Pictured is the La Hoya Basball team, and Pachico, our night watchman in Bombita. It seemed like the whole village came to watch.
July 21, 2011
My cooking girls enjoy playing with the dogs as much as (if not more than) the cooking. This day we made empenadas, and we were joined by Jonathon, just in time to eat what we had made!
July 19, 2011
We have had an influx of caterpillars in the last few weeks, and no one seems to know why! I find them everywhere, at all times of the day, and in many shapes and sizes, from furry and black, to spikey and green. This one was about as big as my pinky finger.
July 15, 2011
A family in Bombita happily waves as I take a picture. The people in Bombita have a very hard way of life, but they are the most welcoming, and “smiling-est” people we have met.
July 13, 2011
On the last day of camp, the entire group of youth, leaders, and the group from Florida posed for a picture on camp grounds.
Friday, August 5, 2011
July 11
A great activity at camp was this hilarious competition where contestants donned an oversized sweat shirt, stuffed it with as many balloons as possible. Other team members worked on blowing up and tying the balloons. Here you see two of the youth group leaders, Rosalba and Nairobi in the heat of competition
July 10, 2011
The youth groups from Bombita and La Hoya came together in Bani for a youth camp led by the Evangelical Church of the Dominican Republic, and a team from First United Methodist Church in Brandon Florida. Each night there was a church service with music, dramas, and dances, as pictured here.
July 8, 2011
The 8th grade graduation in La Hoya starts with a procession through town, complete with a band and flags. Each graduate walks with an escort, who might be a sister, mother, cousin, or a good friend. The ceremony was beautiful and the grads and their parents were very proud.
July 6, 2011
At a beach called Los Patos, a group of kids were climbing and jumping out of this tree onto the sand (not really sand, but small, flat stones). This girl was the only girl, and the youngest, but she climbed the highest and jumped the furthest, which just made my tomboy heart so happy. It is rare to see a girl out playing the boys here.
July 4, 2011
The drama club also presented to play to the youth of La Hoya. Pictured here are a group of girls that made up and preformed the dance to accompany the introduction of the Cowardly Lion.
July 2, 2011
The Project Trusty girls from both La Hoya and Bombita worked with a group of kids in Bombita to form a drama club. With about 40 participants, we put on a music and dance filled version of “The Wizard of Oz” Pictured here is the Good Witch of the North and three Munchkins, advising Dorothy to follow the yellow brick road.
June 28, 2011
This little puppy was given to me as a “gift” from a little boy that I took to see the doctor in town. He had a badly cracked molar that had become infected, and made it impossible for him to eat or drink. His parents would not take him to the doctor even though it is free and just around the corner from their home. The boy was too afraid to go by himself because he thought he would have to get a shot. I walked him into the clinic where we got some IBprophen and an antibiotic. The next week the swelling and infection had subsided, and his molar had been removed. However, I did have to give the puppy back to him, and that did NOT make him very happy!
In Bombita most roofs are made of tin. When they begin to rust, there is no going back and they deteriorate very quickly. This family had the children’s bed right under this hole, and when it rained on the outside, it rained on the inside. A donor from the States sent down a tarp to help the situation, but many homes have this same problem.
June 26, 2011
At church today, this crab was spied clinging to the top of the drapery at the front of the church. He was scrambling around a bit and managed to open the curtains a bit, as well as distract a number of the congregation before this young man pulled him of the drapes and tossed him outside.
June 24, 2011
Most villages have a baseball team and a basketball team for boys, and girls play volleyball. The game is not very organized, almost no passing or play making, but it is a great way for the girls to be athletic. Here the La Hoya team plays against a close village called Pescaderia.
June 22, 2011
This spider was one of the creepiest things I have ever seen. This spider is actually the second of its kind we found that night, and the second time we knew to take a picture before squishing it. When we slapped it with a shoe, it crumpled up and about 100 tiny little spiders came flooding out of its abdomen! We were caught off guard and just stood there dumbfounded for the first one, but this one we new to have the insecticide can ready and to keep on slapping!
A group of girls has started coming over to the house on a weekly basis to cook. This day, I cooked my favorite recipe, called “sunshine chicken” It has orange juice and curry and cinnamon with rice and green peas. The kids didn’t love it, and I was told later that curry is widely despised in the Latin world because it is just so foreign. OOPS!
June 18, 2011
This picture is a bit hard to see, but at a baseball game in Bombita, the outfielders have a little extra help from the goats! Also, I don’t now where else in the world you get to play on a field surrounded by cane and palm trees. It is really beautiful.
June 16, 2011
Some boys in Bombita walk home after nabbing a few cane stalks. Bombita is surrounded by cane fields so this tasty snack is widely available, although quite difficult to eat!
June 14, 2011
Jonathan is a boy in La Hoya that comes VERY frequently to play with the dogs. He usually brings a umber of friends, and they usually come bearing gifts. Today he came by himself though, and was quite happy to have some alone time with the dogs.
June 12, 2011
Our neighbors in La Hoya have been very friendly to us from the beginning, and give us great insight to how a Haitian-Dominican family lives as we can here their every word from our house. Their little boy is named Chichi, and the poor kid is constantly getting yelled at for any number of things, but it is clear how much he is loved. His dad is constantly playing with him, and him mother sings him to sleep at night. They asked me to take their family picture, and this is the most relaxed I could get them! 
June 10, 2011
This is a new sprout coming from a plantain tree on COPA property. All new leaves start out in this tightly curled cone, and since this is part of a tree that is only knee high, I was able to get a closer look.
Pardon my negligence!
I am very sorry to be so far behind. It seems that whenever I have the internet I have time to answer a few quick emails, maybe have a chat on skype, and that's all! The internet connection is very slow, and it takes about five minutes for each post to upload, so in order to catch up, I will post every other day leading up to today, and then resume everyday postings.
Thanks so much for reading, I hope it helps you to feel more connected to what we are doing down here.
Thanks so much for reading, I hope it helps you to feel more connected to what we are doing down here.
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